There was no question of the Congress joining the United Front government at the Centre, the party leader in Lok Sabha, Sharad Pawar, said yesterday.
The Congress Working Committee decision to support the United Front government from outside still stands and there is no move to change it, Pawar said while talking informally to reporters here.
The leader said he was aware that there was speculation that he was among the party leaders who were keen on joining the government. Pawar said this speculation had no basis in reality since there was no way in which the Congress would become a partner in the present government.
He said no one should forget the circumstances under which the Congress decided to extend support from outside to the United Front. The leader said the Congress had taken a conscious decision to keep out of power and help the secular parties to ensure that communal forces do not form a government. The return of Arjun Singh would definitely strengthen the party, Pawar, said. He said Singhs knowledge of and experience in politics would be a great asset to the party.
Replying to a question, Pawar admitted that Singh was holding important posts in the Congress before he left it and did not do so now. However, this does not matter as Singh is a very senior leader, Pawar said. He welcomed moves initiated by the Congress president, Sitaram Kesari to bring back to the party all those who had left it. The leader said the party had conducted an analysis of its poor performance in Madhya Pradesh during the last Lok Sabha elections and come to the conclusion that it was largely the result of the fact that leaders like Arjun Singh and Madhavrao Scindia were not with it. Pawar said the return of the two leaders would help in strengthening the party in Madhya Pradesh. He said the BJP-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra was the most corrupt government in the history of the state. The Congress will, however, not do anything on its own to pull down the government, he said.
Pawar said the BJP-Shiv Sena combine did not have a majority in the state assembly on its own. The two parties were surviving with the help of those independent MLAs who were earlier with the Congress, he added.
He said these independents were also not happy with the functioning of the Sena-BJP government.
However, we would not take any initiative to bring them to our side for the downfall of the state government, Pawar said.
